This reading session was one of four scheduled on April 26, 27, 28, and 29, 1920, as part of an "American Music Contest" sponsored by the New Symphony Orchestra (later renamed National Symphony Society, Inc.) and conductor Artur Bodanzky. Manuscript submissions were accepted until April 1, 1920, and the reading sessions were private, open only to the composers and a panel of judges that was to have included Frank Damrosch, Lawrence Gilman, Rubin Goldmark, Maurice Halperson, James Gibbons Huneker, Charles D. Isaacson, Fritz Kreisler, Franz Kneisel, Alexander Lambert, Leonard Liebling, Francis Macmillen, Daniel Gregory Mason, W. Perceval Monger, H. V. Osgood, O. G. Sonneck, Jacques Thibaud, Albert Wolff, and Edward Ziegler. Other than Charles Ives, whose "Decoration Day" was among the compositions given a hearing, the names of the composers and works involved is uncertain. Since James B. Sinclair, in his critical edition of "Decoration Day", states that the Ives reading took place "on or about 1 May 1920", it is surmised that "Decoration Day" may have been read on the final day of the competition sessions, April 29. According to an article in the New-York Tribune following the readings, "About 100 works were submitted for the competition, but out of the twenty-one which were played none was sufficiently mature in the opinion of Mr. Bodanzky and his assisting committee to warrant a public hearing." The Carnegie Hall Archives has no documentation in its collections related to these sessions, and the time recorded here is intended to be approximate only. This information has been collected from articles in various New York newspapers and information contained in James Sinclair's critical edition of Charles Ives' "Decoration Day". "MUSICAL NOTES." New York Times (1857-1922), May 02 1920, p. 1. ProQuest. Web. 31 Jan. 2019. New-York tribune. (New York [N.Y.]), 07 March 1920. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Link to article The Sun and the New York herald. (New York [N.Y.]), 18 April 1920. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Link to article New-York tribune. (New York [N.Y.]), 10 May 1920. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Link to article “Ives: Decoration Day, Critical Edition.” Edited by James B. Sinclair, Issuu, Peer International Corporation, 28 Mar. 2018, issuu.com/peermusicclassical/docs/ives_decoration_day_crit_ed_sc.
New Symphony Orchestra American Music Contest Reading Session